DEMOREST'S 
FAMILY  MAGAZINE. 


No,  CCCXXXIIl. 


MARCH,  1891, 


Vol.  XXVII,,  No,  5. 


jEW  YORK,  not  less  than  ancient  Rome,  maintains 
ber  gladiators, — men  trained,  like  those  of  old,  to 
fight  for  their  lives,  held  in  momentary  readiness 
for  battle,  assigned  by  seeming 
chance  to  sudden  and  varying  con- 
ditions of  mortal  combat,  destined 
all  to  conquer  or  to  be  slain  by  an 
enemy  stronger  and  more  blindly 
cruel  than  any  ferocious  beast  or 
adversary  ever  encountered  on  the 
bloody  sands  of  the  arena.  The 
mission  of  our  gladiators,  however, 
is  not  to  take  life,  but  to  save  it. 
They  are — our  firemen.  * 

Prior  to  1865,  the  firemen  were 
volunteers.  By  an  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature, passed  March 
30th  of  that  year,  the 
present  paid  depart- 
ment was  established; 
b  u  t  no  refoi-m  was 
ever  more  vigorously 
combated,  and  it  was 
not  until  1870  that 
the  new  system  was 
brought  to  satisfac- 
toril}'  good  working 
order.  The  old  vol- 
unteers, retentive  of 
the  social  importance 
and  political  influence 
their  former  service 
had  given  them,  bit- 


terly resented  being  relegated  to  obscurity,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  endeavor  to  maintain  their  position  by  force. 
But  practical  considerations  of  the-  public  interest  were  against 


INTERIOR  OP  AN  ENGINE-HOUSE. 


DKMOKKST'S  FAMILY   M AGJ-AZINK. 


nENi:v  D.  I'l  i'.ii'jv.  riu:-inKNT  of  tiik  hoaiu)  ok  fihk  <  oMMi->io\Kits 

them.  Property  owners  developed  a  prejudice  ag-ainst  seeing: 
tlieir  property  consumed  by  fire  while  rival  companies  of 
firemen,  instead  of  exerting  themselves  to  quench  the  flames, 
beat  each  other's  heads  with  trumpets  and  spanners,  or  upset 
each  other's  engines  to  settle  the  mooted  (juestion  of  which 
were  "  de  best  fighters."  And  even  when  those  customary 
dieertissements  did  not  happen  to  occur,  the  best  applied 
efforts  of  the  volunteers,  dat  ing  and  skillful  as  the  men  often 
were,  lacked  the  co-ordinate  system  requisite  for  attainment 
of  the  best  results. 

By  1870  the  volunteers  had  given  up  the  contest  for  recog- 
nition and  faded  from  sight,  except  in  such  sentimental 
existence  as  is  still  maintained  by  two  rival  societies  of  vet- 
erans. From  that  time  until  the  present,  the  history  of  the 
Fire  Department  has  been  one  of  continuous  progress  in 
efEectiveness  and  extension  of  resources  to  meet  the  growing 
requirements  of  our  constantly  enlarging  city. 

Jt  is  not  easy  to  obtain  enrollment  as  a  Xew  York  fireman. 
The  apidicant  must  have  five  feet  seven  inches  of  height, 
one  hundred  and  forty  pounds  weight,  be  physically  sound, 
pass  a  Civil  Service  examination,  and  make  at  least  a  credit- 
able showing  in  the  gymnasium.  If  thus  far  satisfactory, 
be  is  taken  on  probation  for  a  month.  During  that  time 
new  vistas  of  i)ossii)ilities  for  the  breaking  of  his  neck  are 
opened  up  to  him  in  training  for  the  Life-Saving  Corps,  and 
he  is  experimentally  sent  out  with  some  engine-company  in 
actual  service,  to  get  practical  experience  in  lire  fighting. 
At  the  end  of  that  prol)ational  time  he  is  ))ut  through  another 
physical  examination,  to  ascertain  if  the  vigorous  training 
he  has  undergone  has  i)ri)ken  him  up  in  any  way.  If  found 
all  right,  he  is  enrolled,  uniformed,  and  assigned  to  duty  as 
a  fireman  of  the  third  grade,  but  bis  training  is  continued 
until  he  has  developed  into  a  good  all-around  gymnast,  and 
his  education  as  a  life-saver  is  com))lete. 

The  advisability  of  having  a  Life-Saving  Corjis  had  l>een 
talked  of  and  tacitly  admitted  by  the  Fire  Commissioners  for 
years,  without  any  sfe))s  toward  it  having  been  taken :  but  the 


appalling  loss  of  life  at  the  burning  of  the  Potter  Building 
crystallized  the  talk  into  action,  and  on  February  lO.  XS^'i, 
mainly  at  the  instance  of  Commissioner  Henry  D.  Purroy,  the 
service  was  organized  upon  theliuesof  the  French"  Pompier' 
system.  The  corps,  comixised  at  first  of  volunteers  from  other 
companies  in  the  department,  was  equipped  and  trained  by 
Christopher  Iloell.  who  introduced  the  system  in  this  coun- 
try and  had  already  caused  its  adoption  in  nineteen  Ameri- 
can cities  and  towns.  On  May  /),  1888,  the  Commissioners 
issued  an  order  requiring  all  men  in  the  Department,  under 
the  age  of  forty  years,  to  go  through  the  Life-Saving  train- 
ing. Capt.  H.  VV.  McAdams,  successor  to  Christopher  Hoell, 
is  the  instructor,  and  has  a  class,  generally  of  about  twenty- 
five  in  number,  in  daily  practice  at  the  back  of  the  Head- 
quarters building  on  Sixty -seventh  Street  near  Third 
Avenue. 

A  .severer  training  than  that  required  for  this  service  it 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  ;  but  anything  less  would  fail 
in  the  object  sought,  which  is  not  only  the  instruction  of 
the  men  in  what  to  do  under  all  possible  contingencies  of 
their  service,  but  developing  in  them  the  ability  to  do.  con- 
fidently and  surely,  whatever  may  be  necessary  to  .save  their 
own  lives  and  tho.se  of  others  in  the  extremes!  emergencies. 
Each  man  must  acquire  the  sure-footedness  of  a  mountain 
goat,  the  jumi)ing  ability  of  a  kangaroo,  the  agility  of  a 
])anther.  the  balancing  power  of  a  funainl)ulist.  tin-  climb- 
ing skill  of  a  monkey,  the  strength  of  a  mule,  and  withal 
the  lightness  of  a  squirrel. — all  in  addition  to  natural  clear- 
lieaded  coolness  and  self-reliance  in  the  face  of  the  greatest 
dangers  ;  and,  just  in  proportion  as  he  fails  to  reach  any  of 
these  extremes  of  perfection  in  his  physical  and  mental 
training,  by  so  much  he  diminishes  his  u.sefulness  and  in- 
creases the  measure  of  his  personal  ]>eril  in  actual  service. 

The  life-saver's  ecjuiijuient  consists  of  one  or  two  scaling- 
ladders,  a  very  strong  belt  fitted  with  a  ]ieculiar  hook,  a 
life-line  hung  in  a  coil  upon  the  belt,  a  light  axe.  and  some 
spikes  carried  in  a  pocket.     The  scaling-ladder  is  a  strong 


llUcin   IlON'NFIl,  (llll.F  OK  NKW  YOIIK   nllF  I>F1"A KTMENT. 


II 


hickory   pole,  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  long,  with 
rungs  thrust  through  it,  and  one 
end  armed  with  a  great,  wide, 
steel  hook,  dentilated  on 
the  under  side,  to  catch 
over  window-sills  or  cor- 
nices.   The  life-line  is 
strong  enough  to  bear 
the  weight  of  three  or 
four  men  safely.  By 
the  use  of  two  ladders, 
alternating  t  li  e  m,  the 
man  can  go  straight  up 
the  front   of  a  house, 
from  window  to  window, 
and  even  clamber  up  to 


the  cornice 
and  get 
upon  the 
\  r  o  o  f  ;  o  r 
\  he  can  tra- 
^  \  verse  the 
/  front  of 
the  building  laterally,  swinging 
from  window  to  w  i  n  d  o  w  to 
change  his  upward  course  when 
his  line  of  straight  ascent  may  be 
.impeded  by  an  outburst  of  fire. 
Fastening  his  life-line  to  some 
secure  hold, — m  a  k  i  n  g  one,  if 
necessary,  with  his  axe  and  the 
spikes, — and  taking  a  turn  of  it 


fifty-pound  ladder,  thrust  its  long  hook  through  a  window 
of  the  next  story  above,  climb  up  it  and  repeat  the  opera- 
tion still  higher ;  but  that  is  what  a  man  working  with 
only  one  ladder  has  to  do.    The  accompanying  illustrations 

show  what  these  men 
accomplish  con- 
stantly and  easily  in 
their  daily  practice, 
and  what  they  are 
liable  to  be  called 
upon  to  do,  at  any  mo- 
ment, at  a  fire,  to  reach 
imperilled  people 
and  save  their  lives. 
In  a  vast  majority  of  New  York  houses, 
whether  office  buildings,  tenements,  or  flats, 
a  central  staircase  well  is  likely  to  serve  as 
a  chimney  for  a  fire,  and  to  become  impass- 
able in  a  very  few  minutes  after  the  flames 
break  out.    The  only  avenue  for  relief  and 
the  escape  of  imprisoned  inmates  is  then  by 
the  windows.    Hence  the  importance  of  the 
ladder-climbing  service  to  which  the  men  are 


al)out  the  hook  on  his 
belt,  to  serve  as  a  brake, 
he  can  safely  glide 
down  to  the  ground, 
carrying  one  person,  cr 
even  two  if  they  are 
able  to  cling  to  him,  or 
can  lower  tlu^m  while 
himself  remaining 
aloft. 

All  that  he  can  do 
with  two  ladders,  prac- 
tically he  can  also  do 
with  but  one,  only  not 
so  quickly,  and  with 
more  exertion  and  risk. 
K  is  no  .small  feat  to  balance  one's 
self  on  a  six-inch  window-ledge,  at  a 
height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet  from 
the  sidewalk,  lean  out  far  enough 
to  guide  upward  and  to  manage  a 


trained.  But, 

sometimes,  flames 
bursting  from  win- 
dows cut  off  the 
fireman's  descent 
after  he  has  low- 
ered to  safety 
those  he  ascended 
to  reach.  In  some  such  cases  men  have  had  to  make 
long  leaps  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  across  gulfs  of  flame,  or 
at  diz/y  heights,  to  the  narrow  tops  of  parapet  walls  or 
window-ledges,  even  taking  such  desperate  chances 
when  the  already  sufficiently  insecure  footing  was  made 
still  more  hazardous  by  a  coating  of  ice.  They  have  even 
been  required  to  cross  still  wader  spaces,  to  effect  escape, 
by  fastening  one  end  of  the  life-line,  tossing  the  other 
in  coil  to  a  comrade  at  the  point  to  be  reached,  and, 
when  it  was  made  taut  and  secure,  making  the  transit 
swinging  by  their  hands.  Still  another  resource  isleap-- 
ing  down  into  a  net  held  by  comrades  in  the  street 
below,  a  thing  that  would  not  be  particularly  dangerous 
were  it  not  always  the  unforeseen  that  is  most  likely 
to  happen.  If  the  falling  man  strikes  one  of  the  holders 
instead  of  the  net,  there  are  liable  to.  be  two  dead  men  ; 


DICIVrORKST'S  FAMILY  MAGAZINE. 


if  be  only  bounces  off  into 
the  street,  he  iaa\'  only 
break  one  of  his  own 
limbs,  or  his  neck  ;  liut  if 
all  goes  well,  nobody  may 
be  hurt.  A  great  deal  of 
practice  is  given,  in  train- 
ing, to  the  use  of  the  net, 
both  by  tossing  dummy 
figures  from  a  great  height 
to  be  caught  by  it,  and 
with  men  jumping  into  it. 

All  tenders  and  trucks 
now  go  to  fires  carrying 
full  equipments  of  life- 
saving  apparatus,  and  so 
accustomed  have  the  men 
become  to  its  use  that  they 
very  frequently  emj)l()y  the 
scaling-ladders  to  quickly 
carry  a  line  of  hose  to  an 
upper  story  of 
a  building 
wliere  there 
may  be  a  fire, 
even  when 
there  is  no 
q  u  e  St  i  o  n  of 
saving  life. 
.Another  thing 
that  they  all 
carry  is  a  gun 
a  r ranged  to 

throw  a  projectile,  \vhi<  h,  before  firing,  fits  over 
the  end  of  it  like  a  cap.  and  to  which  a  light  IIN 
line  is  attached.    This  enables  the  throwing,  *}^00^ 
over  the  tallest  buiidintr,  of  a  line  by  which  a  ^ 
heavier  rope  or  a  line  of  hose  may  l)e  hauled  up.     ^  TJC' 

There  is  considerable  dill'ereiicc  between  the 
way  an  alarm  of  fire  is  given  in  l^mdon  and  in  New  York.  In 
London,  when  a  lire  breaks  out,  somebody  who  feels  himself 


interested  hunts  up  a  policeman  and  mentions  it  to  him  ;  the 
policeman  steps  around  to  the  nearest  engine-house  and  for- 
mally reports  the  occurrence  ;  a  fireman  is  sent  with  a  por- 
table extinguisher  to  the  scene  of  the  conflagration  ;  if  he 
finds  himself  u!iable  to  cope  with  the  flames,  he  returns  to 
the  engine-house  and  suggests  the  propriety  of  adopting  more 
radical  measures  ;  if  suflScieut  reliance  is  put  in  his  judg- 
ment and  veracity  to  make  further  investigation  and  report 
seem  unnecessary,  steps  are  taken  to  get  the  engine  to  work. 

In  New  York,  there  are  three  separate  systems  of  elec- 
tric circuits  for  receiving  and  sending  out  fire-alarms,  all 


rslN(i  TIIK  llATTKItlMi-lt.vM. 

centering  at  Headquarters.  [We  have  in  all  twelve 
hundred  and  fen  miles  of  fire-alarm  telegraph- 
wire.  London  has  one  hundred.]  The  first  are 
the  alann  circuits,  each  of  which  includes  fifteen 
to  twenty-five  t)f  our  twelve  hundred  "alarm  boxes,"  sev- 
erally bearing  serial  numbers,  irresix'ctive  of  the  circuit. 


S6X 


Pulling  the  handle  in  the  alarm-box  sends  in  that  num- 
ber, automatically,  five  times  in  succession.     The  first 
electric  impulse 
drops,  in  the  tele- 
graph room  at 
Headquarters,  a 
shutter  disclos- 
ing the  circuit 
waked  up,  and 
registers  the 
alarm  ;  and  by 
the  time  the  box 
number  is  rung 
in,  the  alarm  is 
transmitted  over 
the  second  and 
third  systems,  to 
the  engine-houses 
in  that  district. 
By  one  system 
the  great  alarm-gongs  are  rung, 
and  the  horses  are  released  in 
their  stalls  ;  by  the  other,  the 
number  of  the  box  whence  the 
alarm  comes  is  transmitted. 
That  number  has  hardly  sound- 
ed, when  the  horses  are  hitched 
up  before  the  engine  and  its 
tender,  ready  to  start,  and  the 
men  of  the  company  are  also  in 
their  places  and  ready,  in  all 
the  engine-houses  signaled. 
To  each  signal  ten  or  more  en- 
gines or  trucks  are  assigned  for 

response.  Of  these  only  a  certain  proportion- — say  three 
engines  and  two  trucks — go  out  on  the  first  alarm,  the  others 
to  a  second  and  a  third  call,  these  successive  summonses  only 
being  sounded  as  the  magnitude  of  the  fire  seems  to  render 
them  necessary.  The  apportionment  is  not  arbitrary,  the 
allotment  depending  upon  the  probable  needs  in  different 
parts  of  the  city  :  more  engines  and  trucks  being  assigned 
to  a  given  space  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city — where  build- 
ings are  big,  crowded  together,  and  filled  with  valuables — 
than  in  the  residence  section,  uptown. 

It  is  a  sight  well  worth  seeinp-  to  behold  a  New  Yoik 


T3°fj  Tver's 


baiter  ^°W9 


engine-company 
responding  to  an 
alarm.  At  one 
second,  som  e  of 
the  men  may  be 
reading,  chatting, 
or  playing  dom- 
inos  in  the  com- 
pany room,  others 


asleep  in  the  bunk  room, — with  their  trou- 
sers spread  open  before  them  and  the  legs  of 
their  boots  already  standing  in  them,— the 
horses,  bare  of  harness,  placidly  munching 
hay  in  their  stalls,  and  an  air  of  slumberous 
calm  pervading  the  entire  establishment. 
The  next  second,  at  the  first  "  bang  "  of  the 
big  gong,  the  horses,  with  a  thunderous 
clattering  of  hoofs,  are  dashing  out  of  their 
stalls  and  taking  their  places  before  the 
engine  and  the  tender  ;  the  men,  already 
dressed,  come  flying  down  the  "  sliding 
pole  "  and  instantaneously  spring  into  their 
places;  the  harness, held  aloft  by  an  ingen- 
ious device  over  the  places  where  the 
horses  stand,  drops  upon  them  and  is  in- 


if  ^ 


KEEPING  THE  FIRE  LINE. 


stantly  secured  by  spring  catches  operated  by 
nimble  fingers  ;  the  front  doors  are  open  ;  and 
all  are  actually  waiting  for  the  completion  of 
the  electric  announcement  of  the  box  number 
whence  the  alarm  comes.  The  best  "  hitching 
time  "  yet  made  is  the  recorded  performance  of 
"  Charley  "  and  "Joe,"  the  famous  team  of  No. 
7  Engine  (located  at  Chambers   and  Center 


sea 


DBMORKSarS  FAMILY  JMAGA-ZINE. 


Streets).  They 
have  got  out  of 
their  stalls,  reached 
their  places,  a  u  <l 
Ijeen  completely 
harnessed  and 
ready  to  start  in  1-5 
seconds. 

The  horses,  the 
men  atiirni,  count 
the  strokes  of  the 
box  -  call,  -know 
when  the  alarm  is 
one  to  which  they 
must  respond,  and, 
when  it  is  so,  are 
almost  mad  with  impatience  to  get  away.  They  need  do 
whip,  and  on  their  way  to  a  fire  will  dodge  obstructions,  go 
without  direction  to  the  liydrants  from  which  they  know  by 
experience  their  engine  will  take  water,  and  put  themselves 
in  i)osition  there,  with  scarcely  a  suggestion  by  voice  or  rein 
from  the  driver.  As  for  the  tender- 
horse,  when  the  engine  goes  out  he  will 
follow  it  and  never  be  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  behind,  no  matter  whether 
the  driver  is  on  the  seat  or  not.  He  has 
no  time  to  look  for  anybody  or  wait  to 
get  orders  ;  and  ut  the  fire,  when  he  has 
delivered  the  hose  where  it  is  wanted, — 
in  the  flames  if  called  ujwn, — he  may  be 


trusted  to  jog  off  by  hiniself,  hunt  up  the  engine  to  which 
his  tender  belongs,  and  put  himself  in  proper  position  behind 


it,  without  any  orders.  He  knows  his 
duty.  Xo  horse  is  bought  for  the  Fire 
Department  until  after  fifteen  days  of 
l)reliminary  trial.  Then,  if  he  prove 
himself  gentle,  yet  spirited,  kind  and 
intelligent,  a's  well  as  perfectly  sound, 
he  is  purchased  and  put  in  training. 
It  takes  about  three  mouths  of  patient 
tuition  to  complete  his  education  for 
the  service. 

The  "  sliding  jxile,"  of  which  men- 
tion has  been  made,  is  a  characteristi- 
cally .\merican  invention.  It  is  a  smooth 
column  of  brass,  fixed  in  a  vertical 
position  in  the  middle  of  a  hole  four 
feet  in  diameter,  which  is  cut  through 
the  floors,  and  extends  from  the  main 
floor  up  to  the  bunk  room  and  the  com- 
pany room.    The  name  of  it  tells  its 
use.    It  is  a  compromise  between  run- 
ning down  stairs  and  falling  straight 
down  a  hole,  but  rather  more  like  the 
latter  than  the  former.    Men  accustomed 
to  it  make  the  descent   in  surprising 
ways.    Some  can  slide  down  touching  it 
only  with  their  hands  and  holding  their 
bodies  straight  beside  it  ;  others  habitu- 


r>EM:OREST'S   FAMILY  M^&AZINK, 


363 


A  FIRE  HOAT. 


ally  only  crook  one  arm  around  it  and  let  themselves  go  ;  and 
there  are  not  a  few  who  are  so  expert  as  to  glide  down  it 
head  foremost.  Handy  and  expeditious  as  it  is,  the  great 
open  trap  by  which  it  is  surrounded  is  a  constant  danger. 
Doors  close  the  opening,  but  they  shut  from  below,  are 
merely  to  keep  the  draught  out,  and  give  way  to  the  lightest 
touch.  Men  have  frequently  been  hurt,  and  one  was  killed 
by  falling  through  accidentally.  In  only  one  engine-house, 
that  of  Engine  Co.  5:5,  on  One-Hundred-and-Fourth  Street, 
is  an  intelligently  constructed  safe  system  of  trap  doors,  the 
invention  of  Capt.  H.  M.  Jones.  These  close  from  above, 
can  be  safely  walked  upon,  yet  are  thrown  open  by  springs, 
counterweights,  and  an  electric  shock,  synchronously  with 
the  loosing  of  the  horses  in  their  stalls. 

The  Fire  Department,  among  its  other  efficient  apparatus, 
includes  fire-boats,  or  floating  engines,  for  fighting  fire  along 
shore.  The  "  Zophar  Mills"  and  the  "  \Vm.  F.  Havemeyer" 
are  powerfully  efficient  boats,  and  upon  numerous  occasions 
have  proved  invaluable  for  the  protection  of  the  shipping  in 
the  harbor  and  property  on  streets  near  the  water-fronts. 
The  new  fire-boat,  the  "New  Yorker,"  launched  April  5, 
1890,  will  be  by  far  the  most  powerful  floating  fire-engine  in 
the  world,  and  is  expected  by  sanguine  persons  to  be  capable 
of  making,  under  full  steam,  a  speed  of  nineteen  knots  per 
hour.  At  that  rate  she  will  be  able  to  go  from  her  berth  at 
Pier  1,  North  River  (where  she  will  lie  with  fires  banked, 
but  with  sufficient  steam  always  in  her  boilers  to  start  with), 


to  a  fire  above  Forty-second 
Street,  and  be  at  work  there  in 
twenty-five  minutes,  throwing, 
if  necessary,  a  five-inch  solid 
stream  to  a  distance  of  five  hun- 
dred feet,  or  about  forty  smaller 
streams.  An  ingenious  arrange" 
mentof  metal  screens,  for  protec- 
tion of  the  boat  and  her  crew, 
will  permit  her  fire-fighting  to  be 
done  at  the  shortest  range  de- 
sirable,— in  the  fire, indeed. — and 
her  efllective  service  will  practi- 
cally cover  a  belt  two  thousand 
feet  wide  all  along  the  water- 
front. This  stupendous  geyser- 
producer  will  afford  a  new  assur- 
ance of  protection  for  the  "  dry- 
goods  district," —  a  source  of  con- 
stant anxiety  by  reason  of  the 
enormous  values  there  gathered 
in  a  small  space  that  is  now  very 
inadequately  supplied  with 
water, — since,  even  should  she 
not  be  able  to  play  directly  upon 
■d  fire  there,  she  could  serve  sev-  . 
eral  land-engines,  and  at  the 
same  time  keep  Commissioner 
Purroy's  great  portable  tank 
filled  for  others  to  draw  upon. 

For  fighting  fire  in  the  upper 
part  of  tall  buildings,  the  water- 
tower,  another  modern  invention, 
is  often  invaluable.  The  princi- 
ple of  these  towers,  of  which 
there  are  several  devices,  is  very 
simple.  A  metal  tube,  the  upper 
end  terminating  in  an  adjustable 
nozzle,  is  so  arranged  over  one 
end  of  a  truck  that  it  may  be 
raised  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet 
above  the  street  pavement,  and 
at  the  bottom  is  connected  with  a  very  large  hose  which  is 
.supplied  with  water  by  two  or  four  engines.  The  nozzle  is 
controlled  by  a  man  on  the  truck,  and  tlie  stream  of  water 
can  be  thrown  upward,  downward,  or  in  any  direction  needed, 
with  ease  and  certainty,  even  through  the  upper  windows 
of  the  highest  buildings. 

The  Fire  Department  is  managed  by  three  Commissioners, 
Henry  D.  Purroy,  President,  and  is  divided  into  four  Bu- 
reaus. The  Bureau  of  Chief  of  Department,  Hugh  Bonner, 
Chief,  does  the  real  work  of  fire-fighting.  There  are 
over  thirteen  hundred  paid  employes  in  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment, in  all  its  branches,  of  whom  about  one  thousand 
are  uniformed.  The  pay  of  firemen  runs  from  $1,000  to 
$1,200  per  annum.  If  a  man  is  crippled  in  the  service 
he  is  provided  for  out  of  the  pension  fund.  If  he  is  killed, 
his  widow  gets  $1,000  at  once,  and  a  pension  of  $300  per 
year  as  long  as  she  does  not  re-marry.  There  are  in  pres- 
ent service  fifty-six  engine-companies,  of  which  nine  are 
double  ;  twenty-one  hook-and-ladder  companies,  one  of  them 
double  ;  and  two  water-tower  companies.  An  engine  com- 
pany comprises  a  foreman,  assi.stant  foreman,  two  engineers, 
and  eight  men  ;  a  hook-and-ladder  company,  a  foreman,  as- 
sistant foreman,  and  ten  men  ;  the  double  companies  each 
have  two  foremen,  two  assistant  foremen,  four  engineers, 
and  twelve  firemen  ;  and  a  water-tower  company,  a  fore- 
man, one  assistant  foreman,  and  three  men. 

J.  H.  Connelly. 


S64 


DKMOREST'S  FAMILY  MAG^AZINE. 


THE  RIVER  OF  PEARLS. 

By  Ken£  Db  Pont-Jest. 
Part  I.    A  Dhop  of  Watf.r. 
{Continued  from  page  223.) 
SYNOPSIS  OF  PREVIOUS  CHAPTERS. 

LlnK-Tn-I.ang,  the  eldest  son  of  a  wealtliy  Clilncse  iiiaiularln.  Iiad  Just  married  the  beautiful  Llou-Sloii.  or  Embroidered  Willow,  and  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  wfddlng-feast  was  abuul  retiring  to  the  apartments  of  Ills  Inide.  whom  he  had  not  yet  beheld,  wlien  he  was  followed  down  an  alicj  of  his  ^rden  by  a 
sinister  Individual  who  had  been  shadowing  hini,  and  In  the  meantime  liad  stolen  a  fan  from  another  guest,  a  literary  man  attached  to  the  pagoda  of  Fo. 
The  bride  was  admiring  her  we  lding-jewels,  when  the  attendants  announced  her  bridegroom.  As  she  heard  his  approaching  footsteps  she  fainted,  and  knew 
no  more  until  morning,  when  her  father-in-law  dragged  hir  from  her  rooms  to  behold  the  murdered  body  of  her  husband  In  the  garden,  and  accused 
her  of  the  murder.  The  police-prefect  Ko-Ilop  was  sent  for,  a  fan  was  discovered  under  the  body  of  poor  Ling-Ta-I.ang,  and  Kmbroldered  Willow 
recognized  It  as  belonging  to  her  cousin  I-ti,  the  literary  man  above  mentioned  ;  whereupon  the  prefect  declared  I-lc  to  be  the  murderer  and  the  young 
bride  his  accomplice,  and  ordered  Embroldtted  Willow  carried  to  prison.  In  recalling  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  poor  little  bride's  misfortunes,  we 
are  Introduced  to  Tehuu,  a  butcher  of  repulsive  as|)eci,  who  had  fallen  In  love  with  Llou-Slou  before  her  marriage,  fancying  th.it  a  drop  of  water  which  fell 
In  his  eye  from  her  watering-pot,  as  she  was  tending  lier  flowers  at  her  window,  was  Intended  as  a  love-token.  In  this  fancy,  liose,  or  Me-Koul.  the  maid  of 
Embroidered  Willow,  encouraged  lilni,  pretending  to  carry  notes,  etc..  until  he  saw  the  notice  of  Llou-Slou's  marriage  to  LIng-Ta-Lang  posted  on  the  wall 
of  her  house,  as  Is  the  Chinese  custom,  and  knew  that  he  had  been  du|icd.  Then  he  became  furious  and  vowed  a  fearful  vengeance.  Embroidered  Willow, 
however,  had  no  suspicion  of  Tcliou's  aflectlon,  and  was,  besides.  In  love  with  I-t£.  Mrs.  Lion  had  told  I-t£'  when  he  spoke  of  his  love  for  her  daughter,  that 
she  had  more  ambitious  views  for  the  beautiful  girl ;  so  the  self-sacrlflelng  I-t6,  overhearing  I.ing-Tlen-I.o.  father  of  l.lng-Ta-Lang,  praying  In  the  Pagoda 
Ml  that  he  might  find  a  suitable  wife  for  Ills  .son,  suggested  Embroidered  Willow,  and  the  match  was  concluded.  The  fan  being  found  under  the  murdered 
body  of  Llng-Ta-Lang,  and  the  fact  that  I-t^  had  confessed  his  love  to  the  father  of  the  bridegroom,  were  sutllelent  excuse  for  I-ti  to  be  put  to  torture  to 
make  him  admit  his  siiiiposed  share  in  the  crime.  He  refused,  and  Embroidered  Willow,  after  having  languished  In  prison  two  weeks,  also  refused  to  confess 
the  crime  of  which  .she  knew  nothing,  although  cruelly  tortured  In  the  open  court ;  but  when  \-xk  was  put  to  torture  In  her  presence  she  broke  down,  and  said 
that  she  had  killed  her  husband,  which  statement  her  mother,  who  was  In  court.  Immediately  denounced  as  a  lie,  forced  from  the  lips  of  an  almost  crazy 
girl,  \evertheless,  both  I-t^  and  Embroidered  Willow  were  .sentenced  to  die  In  one  month's  time,  and  I-t£  was  taken  to  the  hospital.  Mrs.  I.lou  was  prepar- 
ing to  return  to  prison  with  her  daughter,  when  Captain  Perkins,  un  American,  who  had  witnessed  the  proceedings,  came  to  her,  and  odered  to  assist  her  In 
proving  Embroidered  Willow's  Innocence.  He  prepared  a  petition  to  the  viceroy,  I^Incc  Kong,  showing  how  unjustly  the  law  had  been  administered  In  thh 
case  by  Ming,  the  presiding  judge.  Mrs.  I.lou  intercepted  Prince  Kong  on  his  way  to  the  temple  and  presented  the  petition,  which  the  viceroy  Immediately 
promised  to  look  Into,  and  requested  the  poor  mother  to  remain  at  the  palace  until  he  could  do  so.  In  the  meantime  her  house  at  Foun-sl  was  entered  and 
robbed,  and  the  servant  liose  bundled  up  like  a  bale  of  goods  and  carried  off. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
The  .Abduction  of  Rose. 

OME  !    We  will  go  now,"  said  the  leader. 

The  two  wretches  lifted  the  servant,  while  the 
Sr'^^'^  other  went  before  them  into  the  street  to  make  sure 
that  it  was  deserted.  There  was  no  one  passing,  nor  was 
there  even  a  light  in  the  neighboring  dwellings.  He  called 
his  men  in  a  low  voice,  and  after  softly  closing  the  door  he 
took  the  leatl  of  this  sinister  group  and  they  all  went  down  an 
alley  close  at  hand,  which  led  directly  to  the  river.  After 
having  confided  to  his  frientl  his  shiin;  of  the  stolen  goods, 
one  of  the  sailors  had  Hung  Rose  upon  his  back,  and,  tied  up 
as  she  was,  she  lookctl  like  a  bundle  of  fish-nets.  They 
soon  reached  the  river.  The  night  was  dark  :  there  was  no 
moon,  and  the  sky  was  starless.  The  waves  of  the  River  of 
Pearls,  lapping  mournfully  upon  the  almost  indistinguish- 
able shores,  made  the  boats,  tied  to  piles,  bump  against 
each  other  with  dull-sounding  collisions.  The  leader  of  this 
strange  expedition  ])ulled  in  one  of  these  boats,  and  after 
having  made  sure  that  it  had  oars  in  it,  he  made  the  rest 
get  in  ;  then  cutting  the  rope  which  held  it,  he  launched  out 
with  a  vigorous  stroke  of  the  oar. 

The  current  was  rapid,  but  the  abductors  soon  reached 
the  opposite  side,  where  the  waters  were  more  tranquil.  At 
that  point  the  River  of  Pearls  divides  into  throe  branches, 
two  only  of  which  are  navigable  and  come  out  ul)ove  the  forts 
of  Boca  Tigris.  The  third,  full  of  rocks  and  shallows,  is, 
besides,  interrupted  in  its  course  by  a  fall  of  water,  whose 
roar,  multipru'd  by  the  echoes,  may  be  heard  three  or  four 
miles  off.  It  was  towards  this  dangerous  arm  of  the  river 
the  boatmen  went;  but  they  hail  not  proct'eded  far,  when 
their  pilot  uttered  a  cry,  startlingly  resembling  that  of  the 
gunmala,  the  devil-bird.  A  similar  cry  replied  to  him,  and 
a  man  appeared  upon  the  rock  against  which  the  waves 
broke.  The  sailors  lifted  their  oars,  and  the  skiff  grated  on 
the  l)pach. 

"  Is  It  you,  Woiim-pi?"  asked  the  man.  who  seemed  to 
have  just  been  cast  up  by  the  waters. 


"  It  is  I,  master,"  replied  the  fisherman. 
"  Is  it  done  ?  " 

"  Yes  :  the  woman  is  here." 
"Then  get  to  work,  you  I  " 

These  words  were  addressed  to  a  dozen  individuals,  whose 
heads  could  scarcely  be  discerned  among  the  tall  grasses. 
They  evidently  were  expecting  this  order,  for  they  immedi- 
ately weni  down  Into  the  river,  where  several  of  them  dis- 
appeared up  to  the  shoulders,  and  began  to  work  vigor- 
ously. Divided  into  groups  of  three,  they  seized  '.he  ends 
of  heavy  ropes  attached  to  buoys,  and  united  all  their  efforts 
to  raise  something  which  scenietl  to  be  at  the  iKittom  of  the 
river.  Sotm  this  unknown  object  emerged  :  it  proved  to  be 
a  long  boat,  painted  I'ed,  either  a  racer  or  a  pirate,  for  its 
bow  was  very  sharp,  and  it  would  carry  twenty  rowers.  It 
could  instantly  be  sunk,  by  means  of  a  large  valve  upon  one 
side,  and  consequently  put  out  of  the  way  of  anyone  seek- 
ing it. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  grim  workers  raised  the  Iwat  and 
turned  it  over  to  empty  it  of  water,  closed  the  valve,  put  it 
on  the  river,  and  took  their  se",ts  in  it.  Wouin-])i  i>ut  Rose 
in  also,  who,  when  he  removed  the  veil  from  her  face, 
watched  these  preparations  in  terror.  All  at  once  the  Ixiat 
shook  violently.  The  chief  of  the  fishermen  jumpetl  into  it 
with  a  tremendous  leap,  antl  seized  the  long  oar  which 
served  him  as  a  rudder. 

"  Tchou  !  "  muttered  the  poor  servant,  her  scream  stifled 
by  the  gag.  She  recognized  the  butcher  of  the  Street  of  the 
(!old-beaters. 

"  Yes,  Tchou  ! ''  the  Intter  re]>»>ated,  bending  over  her  as 
if  to  revel  in  her  terror.  "Tchou.  whom  the  falseness  of 
your  mistress  luis  made  an  as,siissin  ;  Tchou,  the  '  Red 
Spider,'  who  will  avenge  his  tortures  \\\to\\  you,  as  he  has 
already  done  uj>on  Embroidered  Willow." 

Brutally  kicking  aside  the  poor  wretch,  he  gave  a  brief 
order:  the  twenty  pirates  bent  to  their  oars,  and  in  an  in- 
stant the  yawl  gained  the  arm  of  the  river,  where  it  soon 
disa])peared  amid  the  shadows  of  night,  and  only  the  ca- 
denccd  sweep  of  its  oars  could  be  heard  iu  the  distance. 


